PART II. PREPARING.
CHAPTER 15. INTERVIEWS.

This is mainly straightforward – the Interviews. I tried to include lots of details about the tributes, without things getting too boring. Sorry if I didn't succeed with that. I'd suggest paying close attention to the names of some of the tributes' siblings… you may recognize a few of them…

~BTCS~

For a moment, I cannot breathe. It's as if I have forgotten how, or as if Gneiss sat upon my chest, pushing my insides together and making me feel red. I stand alone, on a small metal disk below the stage. The air is chilly around me, as the stage is erected before the Training Center for the night. There is a wall on all sides of me, and the door through which I entered has melted into the wall. Claustrophobia wells inside of me, and I tell myself that I'm just nervous.

Above me, Caesar's voice booms, "Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the Interviews of the 70th Hunger Games!" The crowd, which has been loud, like a tracker jacker nest, flares suddenly as nests do when disturbed. "This is sure to be an exciting Hunger Games," Caesar continues, still clearly heard over the noise. "and I would like to wish you a Happy Hunger Games!" The crowd roars in approval, and I can picture Caesar's snarling grin at their approval.

"Allow me to introduce," the crowd goes quieter, waiting for the moment when the tributes appear on the stage. "Miss Shyne Luxor!" The crowd claps and hollers for a long moment, quieting long enough for Caesar to announce, "Mr. Luster Diamond!" Shyne is sitting now, and Luster is standing before the audience. My stomach turns. My name would be called soon, as the plate lifted me up, into an arena of its own kind.

"Gneiss Mount!" I try not to think about the fact that I will momentarily be before the entire country. "Mason Flint!" I straighten my tiara, and am momentarily distracted by the flash of color from my stardust-covered arms. "Pixel Flash!" How can I go out there? Everyone in the world will be watching me, judging me. "Chip Drive!" Any mistake I make will be seen forever. Not to mention that my life is in the balance. "Syren Seeh!"

I smooth my smooth skirt, thinking of my family, my troop, and River. "Tide Playa!" I will be strong for them. "Scarlett Wires!" I won't let them see a distraught side of me – a side of me that won't be coming back. "Cabel Atom!"
Maybe that's why I am able to walk around clearly now. Maybe Raven's helping me accept my death is the only reason I'm able to have the courage to stand on this plate now. "Jet Rails!"

Soon, now, I think. The plate begins to lift me up as Caesar's voice booms, "Ryder Wheel." I'm taking a deep breath, standing up straight like Garnish taught me. The plate rises slowly, steadily, and I have no doubt that it is very supporting, even though it is powered by air pressure.

The light and noise hit me at the same moment. I thought the noise was loud from my waiting place, but now I am deafened momentarily. The light blinds me, and my eyes take a few moments to adjust. I smile pleasantly as I wait for them to do so. Caesar's face comes into focus first. He extends his hand to me, and I smile wider, accepting it as Garnish taught me to do. "Fawn Dogwood!" Caesar's voice doesn't sound loud from where I stand, but it echoes around the square nonetheless.

The audience screams for me, and I smile and wave at them for a few brief moments before Caesar sends me in the direction of Ryder, who is dressed in a headdress that would only be considered nice by Capitol standards. I sit down in the seat beside his (the seats are about two feet apart) as Raven appears. I smile slightly at my district partner's appearance. He looks nice in a forest green shirt, with tattoos of green and black running around his dark skin. As he sits, we exchange brief smiles, and return out attention to the entering tributes.

Cotton looks delicate in a dress of white clouds. Thread wears a bright purple shirt, with matching eyeliner. Rye is dangerous in a dress dark as night. The stylists have surely done their job, I think, as I watch Barley enter. The few muscles he has are shown off well in his clothing.

After Hestia enters in a blood red gown, Caesar motions for the audience to quiet, as he stands before the Interview chairs. "Now, I think that you are all quite willing to listen to the tributes and to hear what they have to tell you. Many of you in the crowd are ready to place bets on tributes tonight. I will not make you wait any longer. It is my pleasure –" the crowd's screams raised up again. "to introduce … Miss Shyne Luxor!"

Shyne was dressed in a tight white gown that showed off her curves well, and faded to a light green near the bottom. She shook hands with Caesar, and they sat down. On one of the screens throughout the square, a timer appeared, counting down the seconds of Shyne's interview. Each tribute is given three minutes, making the Interviews a very faced paced part of the pre-Games.

"Let me say, Miss Luxor, you are looking rather beautiful tonight. Would you like to say anything about your stylist?"

Shyne gives a practiced, winning smile. "It's absolutely lovely, isn't it? My stylist, Quiantia, is a genius." A screen turns its attention to a woman in the crowd with particularly horrendous makeup. The crowd applauds Shyne's statement, and Caesar allows it for a moment before hushing them.

"What is it, Shyne, which you admire most about the Capitol?"

"The people," Shyne answers sweetly. "I have never met such bright, happy, and friendly people. Everyone here has been so kind to me, just like I am family. And the clothes. So many colors – everywhere! It's much better than the cameras!"

Caesar chuckles, as the crowd smiles happily. They enjoy being praised, of course. Shyne is playing them. "How are we different from District 1? There must be some differences. Tell us what you miss most about your home."

Shyne nods quickly. "Oh, yes. There are many differences. We don't have such tall buildings, or so many people. But what I miss most … is my siblings." Her blue eyes cloud slightly with the memory, and Caesar's next question is gentle: "What are their names?"

"Amethyst, Glimmer, the twins, Sparkle and Glitter, Diamond, Ruby, Velvet, Topaz, Gem, and Jewels. Mother is expecting another – a girl. I call her Sapphire." Shyne lets a sweet smile slip to the audience. "I'm the oldest."

"Do you care much for your siblings?" Caesar asks.

Shyne nods quickly. "Mother cannot manage them all, and so I take Topaz and Gem to the Training Academy to watch almost every day. I teach them all what I learn, and they are all rather good for their age. Amethyst and Glimmer plan to volunteer for the Games soon." Pride springs in her eyes at this last statement.

Caesar lifts his eyebrows. "Training Academy? What could you be training for?" The crowd chuckles. Everyone knows the tributes from Districts 1, 2, and 4 are trained, but it has never been confirmed, since it is technically allowed by the Capitol.

Shyne refuses to say more, and Caesar moves on to her training score. "You received the highest training score, along with Fawn Dogwood and Tide Playa. What do you think about an outlying district tribute receiving the same score as you?"

The cameras find me. The Capitol crowd holds its breath – they know of my double alliance. Perhaps some of the crowds at home do not, but they will presently. I put a small smile on my face, a secretive one, just like Garnish taught me to do.

Shyne smiles. "Well, I'm pretty happy that my allies did well. You see, Caesar, we Careers saw Fawn training, and we decided we wanted her in the alliance at once."

Caesar fakes shock, for the benefit of those who may not know this already. "Really? Fawn Dogwood has been invited to the Career alliance? And she accepted?"

Shyne's smile falters, and I realize for the first time how good of an actress she must be – to fake slipping indignation so well. "Well, she was in another alliance before we offered her the chance to join us, you see. It was with her district partner and the two from District 11." Indignation sparks in me – Shyne knows their names. She isn't saying them because she wishes to sound superior. "The boy from 11, October, was also offered a place in our alliance. They agreed, but they told their district partners that it was all a lie."

A gasp went up from the crowd. They've heard this all before, as have I, but somehow, hearing Shyne say it, it feels all new. "The question is," Shyne answers, still pleasant in appearance, "who they are lying too."

"And who do you think they are lying to?"

Shyne leans forward, and the innocence is lost from her face, replaced by a deadly expression that sends chills up my back. "It had better be to the Careers," she says. "I would hate to see October and Fawn's odds slip too quickly."

The timer beeps, and I jump a little bit. I hadn't been watching the clock. Shyne smiles graciously at Caesar, shakes his hand, accepting his wishes of 'May the odds be ever in your favor' and sitting back down.

As I watch Luster stride to the Interview Chairs, nervousness floods back to me. I had become so interested in Shyne's interview that I had forgotten that I had to do one as well. I arrange my face into a mask again, carefully, so that my nervousness doesn't come through. Somewhere, my family is watching. My troop is watching. River is watching.

"Well, Luster, do you have anything that you want to say to you family and friends back home?"

Luster grins. "Yeah – I'd like to say hello to my brother Sylver, and to remind him that I can still handle a sword better than him." He pauses to allow the crowd to chuckle. "And I'd like to wish my sister, Brilliant, good health. She recently met a man," he explains to Caesar, "and I'll admit curiosity to know if I am to soon be an uncle." The audience laughs at this as well, for several seconds.

"What is your best weapon?"

"Anything close combat," Luster shrugs. "I like stocky swords, awls, scythes, axes, and things like that. I'm not the only Career like that this year, Caesar. Shyne and Syren are actually the only traditional Careers that are good at long-range. That's why Fawn was an asset we were interested in having in our pack." I had figured as much, but it's interesting to hear him say that.

Caesar jumps on the topic of me. "How do you feel about this double alliance?"

Luster shrugs, and I think that I sense he is upset to have mentioned me and directed the attention from himself. "Nothing that Shyne has not already said." He renews her threat without saying it, or even changing his likable demeanor.

Taking the hint, Caesar leaves the topic of me to rest. "Well, we know that your sister has a sweetheart back home," he comments. "What about you?"

Luster smiles slightly. "Of course I do, Caesar! Have you seen me?" The women in the audience cheer immediately for this – you can see Luster's tense muscles through his shirt. When they quit, Luster continues, "Her name is Swan."

"Is she beautiful?" asks Caesar.

"Absolutely," Luster agrees. "and graceful, too, like a swan she was named for. When I win, we are going to be married."

The audience lets out a little sigh of bliss. All of the victor's weddings are televised, and the Capitol celebrates with the victors, having huge parties that sometimes last weeks. And just by those words, Luster has guaranteed himself sponsors.

When Luster's time runs up, Gneiss takes his spot. She is very short with Caesar, and reveals very little about herself to the audience. "I have two brothers." She told Caesar. "My parents both live." When asked her brothers' names, she says that they are called Basalt and Cato.

"My strength is my main weapon," she says. "Any weapon may accompany it, but none equals it." She tells Caesar before the timer goes off.

Mason is very boisterous. "I can crush a tribute with my own bare hands." I notice that Cabel and Angela look quite frightened by this comment, and that was the desired effect, of course. "If I can get close to a tribute, they don't stand a chance." I notice Tide smiling slightly as Mason speaks, as if on an inside joke that no one else knows.

Mason's training score, which was the lowest of all the Career's, was brought up, of course. Mason told Caesar that the Training Sessions aren't always correct. "You can't measure a tribute completely until they're in the arena. Believe me, Caesar, I'll be worthy of a 12 tomorrow."

Pixel's interview receives a dimmer reaction from the crowd than the one they gave to Districts 1 and 2. She is very intelligent, which I had guessed. She tells Caesar that she recently developed a new element that she called Athenista, named after her sister Athene, which would soon be put to use in screens for a clearer picture. One day, she said, if Athenista had the potential that she thought it did, it may make holograms a realistic alternative to screens.

She spoke for nearly two minutes about Athenista, before Caesar asks, "You said you had a sister? Athene?"

"Yes." Pixel nods a moment, visibly pushing back tears. "She looks very much like me. She is eleven, and very bright. In District 3, our intelligence determines our class. It looks as if she will be very highly ranked one day."

"What about you? What did people think your status would be before you were Reaped?"

Pixel is unable to hold back tears at this. "I was to be one of the wealthiest people in the district." She admits, her voice cracking. Caesar pats her arm gently. "Is there any boy that you would like to say hello to?"

"Yes." Her voice remains unsteady. "His name is Ajax. I want him to know that I love him."

Her timer goes off and she returns to her seat, leaving my heart aching. I wish that I didn't have to hear the other tributes' interviews. Tomorrow, the Games begin. And the Games have only one rule: Kill or be killed. Now that I know more about Pixel, will it be as easy to kill her?

Chip comes up. He proves to be hardworking, though his training score of 3 somewhat contradicts this. Only Cotton scored lower than him with her 2. Altogether, he seems rather nervous and clumsy before the audience, and we learn very little about him. He has three siblings, Felix, Zeno, and Vala. The eldest, Felix is married. His token is a beaded bracelet that Vala made for him.

The audience, particularly the male portion, becomes very excited when Syren steps forward. She is dressed in a very short, black dress. It makes her look deadly and gorgeous at the same time. The way she carries herself pushes all doubt from my mind – she is using her beauty to her advantage. When she is asked if there is a man back home (Caesar's use of the word 'man' instead of 'boy' strikes me. I suppose that Syren does look much older than us in her makeup), Syren replies, "No, I am single." And several men cry out at this, as though in triumph.

She reveals that she has several siblings – Peral, Foam, and Scales. Caesar doesn't linger on her family, however, moving quickly to the topic of her strengths. "You must have quite a few, as you got a 9 in the training sessions," he points out.

She smiles and nods. "I work on the boats in District 4, so I am a very strong swimmer. That's a talent that few of us tributes share." She lets the importance of this sink in. "Of course, I'm also good at fishing and purifying water, so as long as there is a stream, I will survive." She says that she is talented at long-distance as well as close combat.

Tide takes Syren's place, with a headdress of beads that spill down his back like a waterfall. He is very cocky. When asked his strengths, Tide responds, "I can rush, swim, climb, and I have a good mind. I can handle any weapon, and have mastered all of the survival skills necessary for these Games." Basically, he has just confirmed that he has been trained.

"Is there anything that you're not good at?" Caesar chuckles.

"I'm not sure, Caesar. I'm yet to find something." The audience chuckles at this, for a moment. I can practically hear people saying that he was one to sponsor.

"You have several siblings, don't you, Tide?" Tide agrees with this, and Caesar continues, "Didn't you lose an older sister four years ago, Ocean Playa?"

Tide hesitates a long moment before saying, "Yes. In the Hunger Games. She died when her allies turned on her in her sleep." Tide's hands were fists in his lap, but his voice was steady. The crowd is completely silent.

"It must have taken courage to volunteer after the death of your sister." There is empathy for Tide in Caesar's voice, but Tide doesn't want it.

"It did," he says. "More than it did for her. And that's why I'll be coming out of the arena, and not her." His timer goes off at that.

Scarlett Wires, in a gown made entirely of pink flowers, takes Tide's spot. She tells him about how resourceful you have to be to survive in District 5. She describes how she has found faults in the energy system, and how that has given her bonuses over the years. Her face remains impassive as she speaks, but I know what she's doing. She just said, plainly, to the whole of Panem, that the energy system has flaws. The country has flaws. I tense, fearful for her.

"Do you have any siblings? Parents?"

Scarlett hesitates. I know her fear. After saying something so rebellious on camera, her family may suffer punishments after the Games. "Yes," she says. "a mother and a sister." Without waiting to be asked to say something to them, she says, "Stay strong, Elysia, Mother."

Cabel surprises me. He doesn't cry at all during his interview, and actually makes an impression on the audience as a sweet child. "What would your parents say about your performance during the training session?" Caesar doesn't say that Cabel only got a three.

"They would be very proud of me," Cabel says, without a hint of tears. How long had he practiced doing this? "That's what I kept thinking while I trained. What would Mommy say? How would Daddy do this?"

"And did it work?" Caesar encourages. "Did you learn a lot during the sessions?"

"Yes," Cabel smiles, showing his small, thirteen year-old teeth. "I promise." A sigh went from the audience – he was so charming, so likeable. So … childish. No one was foolish enough to think that he would win, but he had touched their hearts and would be remembered.

Jet comes up, looking dangerous. Caesar asks her what she thinks her odds are, disregarding the Training Scores. Jet laughs and replies, "I am going to win, Caesar."

Her comment takes him off guard, and he laughs in response. "Well, with that confidence in yourself, it would surprise me if there's something that you can't do. What are your strengths, Jet?"

"I know how to use weapons. I know how to use the survival skills, Caesar. I don't just know them. I know how to apply them. I can survive in the arena. I've always been a survivor. And that's what I'm going to do now."

The conversation flows on, and Caesar asks if there is any special boys back in District 6. Jet's face hardens. "There was."

"Was?" Caesar's voice is thick with wonder and emotion. "What do you mean, was?"

Jet seems reluctant to answer. Her face is unnaturally pale, and her demeanor like ice. "His name was Arrats. He died last year when he fell from a hovercraft." The audience gasps, and I join them. Such things are unheard of. Even Caesar is speechless. Jet nods at our confusion and surprise. "The crew was testing a new kind of glass, and in the middle of a difficult maneuver, it broke. Arrats fell, and there was nothing that anyone could do …" she trails off.

"I'm sorry," Caesar says, but Jet shakes it off. She doesn't want his sympathy.

I think that I can understand Jet now. If River were killed, I may accept the Games as a way to escape the pain. She doesn't care for her own life anymore. A tribute that has nothing to lose is a tribute to be feared. I think to myself that after the Careers, Rye, Jet, and maybe Ryder and Thread are the biggest threats to me. The thought tears at me as hard as a knife, but I force it to remain. I still intend to get out of this alive.

I miss most of Ryder's interview, catching only that he has only his mother, and a ring that was his father, engraved with the words, "Family lies in the heart." I am next. My stomach is gone, replaced by water. My insides are moving like water, frozen and icy. I feel the need to gag – to remove the water from me. For a moment, I think that I am going to puke.

Then I see River's face. It is kind and comforting, with his dark hair and bright green eyes. I am beautiful tonight, and, though I am as distant as the stars, I want River to see me as beautiful one more time. I don't want him or my sisters to see my fear.

"And now, allow me to introduce … Miss Fawn Dogwood!" Caesar announces.

My vision clears. I can still see River before me, by my side, and all around me. But I am now also aware of the audience and Caesar. Cheers rise to great me as I stand and walk forward. River's presence, though far, is sure, and gives me comfort. I don't even struggle with the high shoes Tigris has given me.

Caesar accepts my hand and we sit down together. My timer begins as Caesar asks, "So, Fawn, I think that we are all dying to know what is going through your head about this double alliance."

I take a deep breath, recalling the words that Blight and I rehearsed. "I can't exactly tell you whom my loyalties lie with, Caesar," I tease him.

"All right," Caesar smiles slightly. "At least tell me this, do the loyalties of young October Harvest lie with you?"

I glance at October over my shoulder, and he smiles at me. I turn back to Caesar. "I do believe so."

Caesar nods. "Do you have anything to say about your training score? Any hints as to why it may be so high?"

I purse my lips, glancing at the Gamemaker's balcony. "I can't tell you exactly what happened in my session, but let's just say that I have known how to throw knives long before I came to the Capitol."

Caesar looks interested. "What do you mean, Fawn?" He knows that we have no training in District 7 – we have too few victors for that. The audience must be very confused. I hesitate, making them wonder and holding out the moment. Finally, Caesar says, "Does it have something to do with that scar on your temple?"

My hand flies to it automatically. I had forgotten that the Capitol wouldn't understand what it symbolizes. It is such a part of me that I forget sometimes. "It is a crescent moon," I tell them, unnecessarily. "it symbolizes my troop."

"What is a troop?" Caesar is still just as confused.

"It is a group of young people that scout the forest that we are about to cut down, searching for landmarks, types of trees, and bodies of water. The one from my part of District 7, Sawdust, is called Crecent Moon Troop." I pause, and Caesar makes no move to interrupt me. "There are lots of wild animals in the forest, that, like mutts, want nothing more than to kill us. So we are granted knives to protect ourselves.

Caesar nods, intrigued. "I see. How long have you been in such a dangerous occupation?"

"It isn't allowed until Reaping age," I tell Caesar. "and I signed up the day that I turned twelve. As you may imagine, I am very good at throwing knives."

This sinks in for a moment, and I glance at the clock. A full two minutes are gone. "You have been seen wearing a carved necklace that bears striking resemblance to the one you are wearing now. Is that your token?" He needn't have asked. I wouldn't have been allowed to wear it if it weren't. I nod in response. "How did you acquire this necklace?"

"There are always spare scraps of wood lying around," I answer him. "Scraps that aren't big enough to be worth transporting to the processing factories. My mother carved the necklace and gave it to my sisters, Aria and Creta. They gave it to me to be my token." It is the answer that Blight and I decided on – to protect Jessica. I wish I could protect my family as well, but there is no hiding the fact that they are my relatives.

Caesar nods. "Is there anything that you want to say to them?"

My face constricts painfully before I can stop it. "I love you, all of you." I hope the troop, Web, and River understand that I mean them too. "Don't forget that, or what I said to you in the goodbyes. Don't worry, so long as you haven't given up on me, I won't give up either."

Time is running out. I can see the seconds dwindling. Caesar fits in one last question: "Is there any boy back home, Fawn?"

Even though the thought of doing this has hurt all day, even though I know how it will make River feel, I answer without hesitation, "No."

I return to my seat after Caesar wishes me luck, and Raven takes the spotlight. He states that he trusts me, and believes that I am faithful to him and Maze. He also says, "I may not look strong, but I really am. Hand-to-Hand Combat is my strength."

"Is that what earned you a six?" Caesar asks

"Yes, that and the other things I learned, like survival skills."

The conversation moves to his family. "My three siblings and I live with my grandfather, Ashton. He's an older man, but still stable. My siblings are all thirteen – triplets. My mother died giving birth to them. Rowen is the boy, and takes after me and my father. Hazal is the sweetest person I have ever known, and Dara … she's daring. Hazal is bullied sometimes, and Dara always returns the taunts with an iron fist." He chuckles, thinking of his siblings. "I know that Dara will protect them all while I'm gone."

Cotton comes up next, in her soft white dress of clouds. She is charming, and pretty in a young way. She only tears once, when she recalls that she has a mother back home whom she loves very much. I learn that she was always dreamed of being a mother – a dream that I, too, possessed at 13. My heart aches.

Thread is trying to appear sly, but does not execute it very well. In the end, we learn very little about him, except that he has a small but beautiful girlfriend named Veri. He says hello to his mates from the orphanage, and that is how we learn that he is an orphan. His token is a spool of thread that was all that Veri had to give him. At the end of his Interview, he reveals that he and Ryder are allied.

Rye, in a dark gown, is beautiful and deadly. I realize that I haven't spoken to her much, and absorb as much as I can about her interview. She has no siblings, and comes from a hardworking family. She says that they earn whatever they have, and take nothing more. She says that she knows how to use a scythe, and could win the Games if there was one in her possession. She seems very sure about that. Her confidence is what makes me believe in her words. And I have seen that they are true. She has placed very high in all of the exercises, and her training score was an 8.

Barley tries to be likeable, but ends up crying when he begins talking about his sister, Soil early on in s Interview. He manages to pull himself together at the end, and he tells Caesar that he and Cabel Atom are allied.

Angela Herder comes up timidly, quick as a mouse and her features looking as small as one. "I'm good at blending in," she tells Caesar. "Very good at camouflage."

"Your hair color will stand out like a beacon," Caesar points out.

Angela nods, and her white blonde hair moves slightly with her head. "I know. I plan to make it brown or black in the arena." It is a good plan. I have dark features already, and don't have to worry about making such plans.

Grant is dressed in a skin-tight shirt that shows his many muscles. He claims that it is his strength that earned him a 7. His mother has recently died, leaving him with only his two year old sister. They live in the orphanage. He says that his strength will give him an advantage in the arena, and that anyone looking to doubt him (he looks at the Careers as he speaks) is making a mistake.

My eyes narrow slightly, in confusion rather than hostility. Why is he making it so obvious? Wouldn't it be smarter to show it to only the sponsors in the arena and to surprise the Careers later?

When Maze comes before the audience, they all let out a little sigh. Maze's hair is done, for the first time since I've met her, in a sleek wave. In a watery purple gown, Maze is graceful and beautiful. She proves to be so in personality, as well.

"I love my siblings very much," she tells Caesar. "I am the oldest of seven, with my elderly grandmother to help me as much as she can."

When Caesar asks Maze about where she believes October and my own loyalties lie, she states, "I trust October with my life. We knew each other back in District 11. And I may have just met Fawn, but I know a good from a bad person when I see one. I trust her." And so it is confirmed to the entire country: I am trusted by both alliances. Who will I deserve to be trusted by, though?

Maze tells him that she is an agility and long range fighter like me. She prefers crossbows and bows and arrows to knives, however. She says that this is the reason that she received an eight in training. I relax as she speaks – with a caring demeanor and just being likeable as always, Maze charms me and the crowd once more.

October goes up after her, in a green outfit that clashes with his hair. He is horribly funny, filled with jokes that I'm guessing he worked on all day. He grows serious only when Caesar brings up the double alliance. "Fawn and I were put in a tough spot," he admits. "We were already in an alliance with people we cared about when the Careers offered us a spot. You can't exactly ignore a spot in the Career alliance – it means a lot in intimidation, and basically ensures you a spot in the top ten." He shakes his head, hopelessly. "What are we to do?"

Hestia goes up, in her blood red dress. Caesar is very inquisitive as to how she learned to swim. Hestia refuses to say, which makes everyone assume that she learned illegally, and Caesar moves on to ask her about family. She replies that she has an older brother, Abram, who is married with two children, and no other living family.

"My strength is swimming." Her eyes twinkling, she adds, "There's something else, too, Caesar, that I haven't shown anyone yet. It's a surprise for in the arena."

Cole goes up, and is mostly silent. His silence gives him an air of mystery and deadliness that I doubt he could have achieved otherwise with his four in training. He curtly says that he is an orphan, and that he has no girl or friends.

When Cole sits down, all of us tributes rise and the Capitol Anthem blares over the cheering crowd. I know that my family is looking at me, at this very moment, as is River, Web, my troop, Mist Troop, the whole of District 7, the Capitol, and Panem. I know that I may very well be dead in less than twelve hours.

How do I want to die? I wonder suddenly. Dressed in a gown of stars, it isn't hard to think about death. It will be hard later. Now, everything seems so distant that an answer comes to me quickly. I want to die smiling. I want to die laughing, and I want to be rememebered with an air of mystery. What did Fawn Dogwood know that made her laugh as the blood poured out of her? They'd never know the answer: I was laughing at them for wanting to know.

I smile at the crowd, chuckling a little bit to myself as the lights faded, casting the entire stage into darkness.

~~BTCS~~

Anyone catch Glimmer's name? Cato? Quite a bit of character building went on in this chapter…. Just in time for them all to die. Well, if you don't know a tribute at least by name and district by now, I have failed. When the Games start, there will be conflicts with characters that haven't been too important up to now.

One more chapter of Part 2! Then we enter Part 3 and the Games! You're excited for the bloodshed, right? Because you're reading this fic, like the Capitol watches the Games…. Yes, I just implied that you're a Capitol citizen.

Please review! Please…..